Ambush is a former American Halo team active on the MLG and AGL Pro Circuits from 2008 until 2013.

History

Halo 3

Ambush was formed in the lead-up to the 2008 MLG season by Eli "Eli" Hensley, Matthew "GuN ShoT", "SsSilent" and Eric "Snip3down" Wrona, a well known online player who had yet to make it to a tournament. Years later, Snip3down described in detail the formation of the original Ambush lineup.

"I played with Bradddd, Smoltz, and DemonHunter, which was going to be our team going into the first event. Well, Smoltz had problems going and so did Demonhunter. I ended up joining Eli and Gun Shot. They were two friends that I had always wanted to team with and I knew they had been interested in teaming with me. They asked me whom I thought would be a good fit, and I told them SsSilent. He eventually became our 4th. We decided on the team name... Ambush."[1]

Ambush finished 7th at their first event at the Meadowlands, losing to Believe the Hype and Str8 Rippin. After Meadowlands, Snip3down left to join Instinct while SsSilent went to Believe the Hype. Ambush picked up 2007 FFA phenom Justin "iGotUrPistola" Deese and Jared "MudVayne" Keenan, coming off a 9th place finish on Believe the Hype. Ambush took a step back in San Diego, losing to Classic and Fatal Images and going home in 10th place. After San Diego, Eli and GuN ShoT left to join SsSilent on Believe the Hype, leaving Ambush to pick up San Diego Believe the Hype duo Richie "Heinz" Heinz and Dan "NeXuS" Verhoff. The new Ambush pulled off a huge upset in Orlando, taking out Str8 Rippin in 5 games in the Round of 8. In the next round, they were swept by Triggers Down and sent to losers where they beat Chilled Reality and found themselves in a rematch with Str8. Str8 reversed the series, winning four out of five games to send Ambush home in 4th.

Despite the high placing, Ambush made changes once again after Orlando, replacing MudVayne with another former Believe the Hype player - Scott "Cloud" Holste. In Toronto, Ambush took Triggers Down to 5 games, but could not win the decider and were sent to Losers, where they won a close match against Carbon before losing 3-2 to Final Boss and being sent home in 5th. The placing was high enough to earn Ambush a spot in the Las Vegas National Championships and an automatic spot in the Dallas Championship Bracket. In Dallas, Ambush again fell to Triggers Down early, but managed to beat Carbon and Classic in Losers. They ran into Triggers Down once again after this and lost 6-2. In Vegas, the 7th seeded Ambush had a lone representative in the All Star Classic - iGotUrPistola - who played for the winning East Coast. In the main tournament, Ambush were swept in both of their matches, first by Final Boss and then by Triggers Down.

The Ambush lineup was gutted during the offseason, as Heinz and Pistola left for Triggers Down and Cloud returned to Believe the Hype. NeXuS built a new team, bringing GuN ShoT back and enlisting the help of Joseph "TiZoXiC" Capetillo and Kyle "Chig" Lawson. Both players were fringe top-8 players on the verge of breaking out. Ambush did not have an event to remember at the Meadowlands season opener, losing to Instinct and Heaven and Earth and going home in 10th. This lead to another team change as Chig left to join Classic and was replaced by Chris "Gilkey" Gilkey. Ambush had another unfortunate bracket in Columbus and losses to Final Boss and Status Quo again sent them home in 10th.

Perhaps looking to add some veteran experience to the lineup, NeXuS recruited Joseph "Mackeo" Reinhart to replace GuN ShoT for Dallas. Ambush's troubles only worsened as they were swiftly eliminated by Status Quo and Virtuosity and sent home in a disappointing 16th. After Dallas, the Ambush lineup was blown up once again, as NeXuS brought in three fresh faces - Jacob "Arkanum" Santos, Steven "FeaR" White and Craig "ThuggishKilla" Chamberlain. After battling through the Open Bracket, the new Ambush was elimianted in Losers Round 4 in Anaheim after a loss to 14th seeded Relapse, resulting in a new low placing of 17th. At the Orlando National Championships, Ambush, with "Tetra Sh0t" having replaced FeaR, were eliminated in Losers Round 5 by Dynasty resulting in a 16th place finish. The Ambush lineup disbanded during the offseason, with NeXuS and FeaR retiring.

Ambush was revived for the 2010 season by former members GuN ShoT and Eli alongside "SeVeRiNcE" and Christopher "BatMayne" Stephen. They finished 15th in Orlando after losses to Triggers Down and Heaven and Earth. After Orlando, SeVeRiNcE and Eli were replaced by brothers George "Frosty" Polk and Ryan "SneakEBeaver" Polk. Ambush were double eliminated by Triggers Down in Columbus and finished 13th. After Columbus, SneakEBeaver and GuN ShoT were replaced by Adam "IceVayne" Konen and "PoWeeZy". This roster managed a win over Carbon and gave Ambush its highest placing in quite some time - 11th. Going into D.C., PoWeeZy and BatMayne were replaced by Cory "Str8 SicK" Sloss and a returning SneakEBeaver. Ambush lost to Triggers Down and Believe the Hype in D.C. and went home in 16th place. Ambush disbanded after D.C., having failed to qualify for Nationals.

Halo: Reach

At the beginning of the 2011 season, a new Ambush roster was formed by founding member GuN ShoT alongside "InSaiyan", Mason "Aries" Miller and Chance "Monster" Duncan. Ambush finished 4th in their pool in Dallas and finished 20th after a loss to Severance. After Dallas, InSaiyan built a new Ambush lineup, bringing in Anthony "PhainT" Savino, Mike "Russo" Russo and the legendary Dave "Walshy" Walsh. The new Ambush finished 25th, losing to Heartbreakers early in Losers. Ambush disbanded after Columbus and was not seen again for the remainder of the 2011 season.

Ambush was revived in early 2012 by former members Cloud and Heinz alongside Bradley "APG" Laws and Matt "FormaL" Piper. Ambush had a major return to glory in Columbus, beating Str8 Rippin, Carbon, Shady Halo Kids and Dynasty and losing only to Instinct and Status Quo, who finished 2nd and 1st respectively. Ambush took 3rd place in Columbus.

Halo 4

Ambush made a roster change going into the DallasHalo 4 exposition event, replacing Cloud with founding member Snip3down, now a Halo legend due to his time with Str8 Rippin in 2008 and 2009. After losing to Warriors in the Winners Finals, Ambush defeated Status Quo in the Losers Finals but were unable to turn the series against Warriors around in the Grand Finals, ultimately losing 4-0 and going home in 2nd. At AGL 3 Chicago, Ambush (now playing as Pulse Ambush after partnering up with Pulse eSports) were perfect, breezing their way through the bracket and beating Warriors in the Finals to win the first ever event under the Ambush banner. Despite the win, Ambush made a change going into AGL 5 Nashville, replacing APG with a returning iGotUrPistola, who was now seen as one of the greatest Halo players of all time. Ambush had another perfect event, beating Warriors in the Finals.

Ambush's Halo 4 rampage continued at AGL 7 Knoxville, where they beat Status Quo in the Grand Finals and took their third straight event. UMG Chicago made it four in a row as they took out Pulse Classic in the Finals. At AGL 8 Knoxville, Ambush were toppled in the Winners Bracket by TEC Infamous, a team constructed solely to bring them down. In the Losers Semifinals, they lost to Requiem and went home in 4th place. Going into AGL 9 Atlanta, Snip3down was replaced by Ian "Enable" Wyatt of Status Quo fame. Ambush won the small event, beating Severance in the Finals. Ambush disbanded after AGL 9. FormaL and Enable became full-time Call of Duty players while Pistola joined OpTic Gaming and APG went to Believe the Hype.

Halo 5: Guardians

The Ambush name was briefly revived by former member MudVayne in 2016, playing alongside Andrew "JR2" Sychtysz, Brian "Kephrii" St. Pierre and Kenneth "KuavoKen" Williams. The team looked to qualify for the HCS Pro League but could not advance out of its pool in the Online Qualifier. Ambush disbanded after the Qualifier.

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